Phone Calls |
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by Rich Schinnell |
Again, I am going to write about the "Net."
I know that some of you are tired of news about the "Information Highway" or the World Wide Web. I am also; it seems that all the news people have to have some mention of the WWW or the Internet on each of the news shows.
But this month, I would like to talk about some of the neat things that I have found. One that comes to mind real easy is Quarterdeck's Internet communications program, Webtalk. The program allows netnics to talk over the Internet using soundboard with speakers and a microphone. Sorry, but it requires a PPP or SLIP connection; a shell account with TIA doesn't seem to cut the mustard, according to my tests.
Gary Saxer, Vice President of Quarterdeck Software, demonstrated Webtalk at the general meeting. Hopefully it went well as I am writing this about two weeks before the meeting. I downloaded the two MB file and installed it. I also have a license for a competing product called Internet Phone, so I was a bit familiar with the voice-on-the-Internet process.
Installation went quite easily, but as usual, I don't tend to be a big fan of the RTFM club (that's Read The Fine Manual). After a few fits and starts, I was connected to the Quarterdeck WWW site. Here is the WWW address for those who would like to give it a try: http://arachnid.qdeck.com/qdeck/demosoft/. If Quarterdeck decides to change the address for the Demo of Webtalk, then I suggest: http://www.quarterdeck.com/.
I am impressed at how clear the phone calls were. After getting it all set up, I was able to initiate and receive voice calls with people all over the world. The quality of the call was very clear, in fact several people remarked that it was better than the regular phone lines. To get started, you need to log in to Quarterdeck's voice server and enter your name, a userid (user ID/name), and a password. With so many Richards, Riches, and Ricks running around, I had to be creative in selecting a "handle" to use. I finally had to settle for "schinnell"_I was pretty confident that no one else would have that one.
Once you figure out how to use the system, you then can initiate and receive phone calls without going through Quarterdeck's web server. You can save favorite people's net addresses and call them directly-The only problem with this is that you need to know the person's TCP/IP address. For those with a permanently assigned ID, this is easy, but many of the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) assign you an IP address each time you log on, so going through the Quarterdeck WWW server will be required.
Parental Discretion Advised
One of the areas that concerns me after having used the Internet Phone for about four or so months is the proliferation of XXX rated names on the servers. This is of course childish and just shows how immature some people are. Not that I am a prude after 20 years in the USN; I don't get shocked very easily. But I think that there is a place for all things, and on the screen is not one of them, especially for those with younger children. I don't know what Quarterdeck is going to do about this, but their site will be among those banned by the new software watchdogs for children that are on the market.
The Vocaltec people who make the Internet Phone have that problem. With the callers being able to create any name for the "chat" rooms, anything seems to go. I would hope that some of the Internet WWW providers would think about some minimal rules to preclude users from creating obnoxious or racy names for the chat rooms. Or have adult-only rooms and general public rooms. These could be on separate servers with the requirements plainly spelled out. This would allow freedom of choice.
In the end, the WebTalk program is quite good. You can get addicted and might have to have a "get a life" implant after a while but it is fascinating. There are plans (from what I hear) to allow multiple users to chat as on a party line. At present it is only one-on-one. The MSRP for WebTalk is $69 but Quarterdeck's on-line store lists it for $49.
Rich Schinnell is retired from the USN, then again from Vitro Corporation, and now does a bit of specialized consulting on the side. He has been a volunteer for CPCUG since the very early 1980's. As one of the netnics, his home page is http://www.cpcug.org/user/schinnel. Reprint from Monitor, the Monthly Magazine of the Capital PC User Group, Inc.
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